We live between fences. We may hardly notice them, but they are dominant features in our lives and in our history. Built of hedge, concrete, wood and metal, the fence skirts our properties and is central to the American landscape. We use them to enclose our houses and neighborhoods.

The Public Square and Free Street Theater present The Power of Protest Today with Craig Harshaw, a founding member of The Youth Justice Funding Collaborative. This conversation takes place on Saturday,  November 1 at 1:00 PM at Free Street Theater.

Free and open to the public. For more info, call (773) 772-7248.

Free Street has been using theater to create social change since 1969. Currently teen artists are working on an ensemble devised performance about youth involvement in social justice movements.  

 

A Road Scholar Program by Sharon Z. Alter

Join living historian Robert Fox, from Coulterville, as he takes a trip back in time.

In 1890s period clothing, Fox will discuss the life of a coal miner behind the mine fences.

Come learn how mine sites and the miners' safety has changed in over 100 years.

"In Complete World": An evening with filmmaker Shelly Silver. "In Complete World" is a documentary made up of street interviews shot in New York City. It mixes political questions with more broadly existential ones and centers on the tension between individual and collective responsibility.

We live between fences. We may hardly notice them, but they are dominant features in our lives and in our history. Built of hedge, concrete, wood and metal, the fence skirts our properties and is central to the American landscape. We use them to enclose our houses and neighborhoods.

The Odyssey Project is a college-level course in philosophy, literature, art history, and history for men and women living below 150% of the poverty level.

Its anchor program is the first-year course, which is offered in partnership with Bard College and for which students may receive six units of college credit.

Faculty members are largely from first-rate universities such as University of Chicago, the School of the Art Institute, and DePaul University.

Tuition is free, and the Illinois Humanities Council provides free childcare, free books, and transportation. The six units of credit are fully transferable to other colleges and universities.

This course meets on Mondays and Thursdays.
Admission is by application only. Refer to syllabus for changes in course schedule.

A Road Scholar Program by Chris Vallillo

From the beginning, the Jennifer Hudson story captured the public's imagination: Baptist-raised Chicago singer with a big, stirring, soulful voice makes her way to the seventh round on "American Idol," yet gets voted off the show with a withering put-down by one of the judges, who predicted she would never be seen again. A year later, she overshadows Beyonce in the movie Dreamgirls and goes on to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Fame and fortune follow.

And just as she was promoting her newest movie and CD earlier this month, tragedy strikes. Three members of her family-her mother, brother, and nephew-are brutally murdered in their South Side Chicago home. The media swarm her hometown and her neighborhood. Fan and well-wishers shower her with condolences and messages of support as law enforcement officials search for clues to the motive behind the killings.

A Road Scholar Program by Sarah S. Marcus

The Odyssey Project is a college-level course in philosophy, literature, art history, and history for men and women living below 150% of the poverty level.

Its anchor program is the first-year course, which is offered in partnership with Bard College and for which students may receive six units of college credit.

Faculty members are largely from first-rate universities such as University of Chicago, the School of the Art Institute, and DePaul University.

Tuition is free, and the Illinois Humanities Council provides free childcare, free books, and transportation. The six units of credit are fully transferable to other colleges and universities.

This course meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Admission is by application only. Refer to syllabus for changes in course schedule.

From the beginning, the Jennifer Hudson story captured the public's imagination: Baptist-raised Chicago singer with a big, stirring, soulful voice makes her way to the seventh round on "American Idol," yet gets voted off the show with a withering put-down by one of the judges, who predicted she would never be seen again. A year later, she overshadows Beyonce in the movie Dreamgirls and goes on to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Fame and fortune follow.

And just as she was promoting her newest movie and CD earlier this month, tragedy strikes. Three members of her family-her mother, brother, and nephew-are brutally murdered in their South Side Chicago home. The media swarm her hometown and her neighborhood. Fans and well-wishers shower her with condolences and messages of support as law enforcement officials search for clues to the motive behind the killings.

The Meaning of Service (MoS) is a reading and discussion program for Americorps volunteers featuring discussions that use short philosophical and literary texts on the nature of justice, service, and related themes. Meaning of Service presents participants with the opportunity to examine, refine, and regenerate the beliefs underlying their work.

How a Voice Slams features guest writers and educators discussing the historical, political, thematic, and formal linkages between the slave song, gospel/spirituals, blues, protest chants and songs, hip-hop/rap and slam poetry in youth writing workshops. Guest writers will discuss how their work links to the How a Voice Slams project and share their own work.

From the beginning, the Jennifer Hudson story captured the public's imagination: Baptist-raised Chicago singer with a big, stirring, soulful voice makes her way to the seventh round on "American Idol," yet gets voted off the show with a withering put-down by one of the judges, who predicted she would never be seen again. A year later, she overshadows Beyonce in the movie Dreamgirls and goes on to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Fame and fortune follow.

And just as she was promoting her newest movie and CD earlier this month, tragedy strikes. Three members of her family-her mother, brother, and nephew-are brutally murdered in their South Side Chicago home. The media swarm her hometown and her neighborhood. Fans and well-wishers shower her with condolences and messages of support as law enforcement officials search for clues to the motive behind the killings.

The Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) invites grant applicants to attend a free public Community Grant Application workshop. Any nonprofit organization or institution is eligible to apply to IHC for financial support of a public project in the humanities.

We live between fences. We may hardly notice them, but they are dominant features in our lives and in our history. Built of hedge, concrete, wood and metal, the fence skirts our properties and is central to the American landscape. We use them to enclose our houses and neighborhoods.

The question of who will be the next president is about to be settled. Join us for this post-election roundtable discussion to grapple with the urgent question of what the new administration will mean for America and the world. With a depression underway, two wars raging, unresolved racial conflict, and more, what role will the media and public mobilization and participation play in shaping a new agenda?

Jeremy Scahill, author of the award winning book, Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army; Dedrick Muhammad, Senior Organizer and Research Associate for the Institute for Policy Studies; Tracy Van Slyke, Program Director of The Media Consortium; and James Thindwa, Executive Director of Chicago Jobs with Justice, will offer their thoughts on the aftermath of this historic race for the White House.

The Odyssey Project is a college-level course in philosophy, literature, art history, and history for men and women living below 150% of the poverty level.

Its anchor program is the first-year course, which is offered in partnership with Bard College and for which students may receive six units of college credit.

Faculty members are largely from first-rate universities such as University of Chicago, the School of the Art Institute, and DePaul University.

Tuition is free, and the Illinois Humanities Council provides free childcare, free books, and transportation. The six units of credit are fully transferable to other colleges and universities.

This course meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Admission is by application only. Refer to syllabus for changes in course schedule.

The Odyssey Project is a college-level course in philosophy, literature, art history, and history for men and women living below 150% of the poverty level.

Its anchor program is the first-year course, which is offered in partnership with Bard College and for which students may receive six units of college credit.

Faculty members are largely from first-rate universities such as University of Chicago, the School of the Art Institute, and DePaul University.

Tuition is free, and the Illinois Humanities Council provides free childcare, free books, and transportation. The six units of credit are fully transferable to other colleges and universities.

This course meets on Mondays and Thursdays.
Admission is by application only. Refer to syllabus for changes in course schedule.

A Road Scholar Program by Mark Pohlad

From the beginning, the Jennifer Hudson story captured the public's imagination: Baptist-raised Chicago singer with a big, stirring, soulful voice makes her way to the seventh round on "American Idol," yet gets voted off the show with a withering put-down by one of the judges, who predicted she would never be seen again. A year later, she overshadows Beyonce in the movie Dreamgirls and goes on to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Fame and fortune follow.

And just as she was promoting her newest movie and CD earlier this month, tragedy strikes. Three members of her family-her mother, brother, and nephew-are brutally murdered in their South Side Chicago home. The media swarm her hometown and her neighborhood. Fans and well-wishers shower her with condolences and messages of support as law enforcement officials search for clues to the motive behind the killings.

A Road Scholar Program by Chris Vallillo

The life of Abraham Lincoln spanned a period of great change and growth in the state of Illinois. From his days as a flat-boater, through his time at New Salem, his years as a circuit lawyer and on up through his presidency, Lincoln's life is a microcosm of the development of Illinois during that period. Award-winning folksinger Chris Vallillo uses historic narratives, contemporary folk music, and period folk songs Lincoln may well have known and sung to bring Illinois' favorite son and his times to life.

This program was featured as part of the 2008 radio series "Voices: A Collection of Illinois Stories"  that aired on 98.7WFMT. For more information, visit the WFMT website.

A Road Scholar Program by Janet Cornelius

A Road Scholar Program by John Hallwas

An exciting lecture and slide presentation that delves into the dark side of il history, from the frontier killers at Cave-in-Rock to later horse thieves, bandits, and murderers. Groups such as the Brown Gang, the Johnson Gang, and the Berry Gang - and outlaws like Joe Brice, Ed Maxwell, and Frank Rande - will be discussed, and then slides, based on lithographs and historic photographs, will depict some of the outlaws and the locations associated with their nefarious activities. The lecture will also include comments on the early lawmen and vigilantes who tracked down the desperadoes.

From the beginning, the Jennifer Hudson story captured the public's imagination: Baptist-raised Chicago singer with a big, stirring, soulful voice makes her way to the seventh round on "American Idol," yet gets voted off the show with a withering put-down by one of the judges, who predicted she would never be seen again. A year later, she overshadows Beyonce in the movie Dreamgirls and goes on to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Fame and fortune follow.

And just as she was promoting her newest movie and CD earlier this month, tragedy strikes. Three members of her family-her mother, brother, and nephew-are brutally murdered in their South Side Chicago home. The media swarm her hometown and her neighborhood. Fans and well-wishers shower her with condolences and messages of support as law enforcement officials search for clues to the motive behind the killings.

We live between fences. We may hardly notice them, but they are dominant features in our lives and in our history. Built of hedge, concrete, wood and metal, the fence skirts our properties and is central to the American landscape. We use them to enclose our houses and neighborhoods.

From the beginning, the Jennifer Hudson story captured the public's imagination: Baptist-raised Chicago singer with a big, stirring, soulful voice makes her way to the seventh round on "American Idol," yet gets voted off the show with a withering put-down by one of the judges, who predicted she would never be seen again. A year later, she overshadows Beyonce in the movie Dreamgirls and goes on to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Fame and fortune follow.

And just as she was promoting her newest movie and CD earlier this month, tragedy strikes. Three members of her family-her mother, brother, and nephew-are brutally murdered in their South Side Chicago home. The media swarm her hometown and her neighborhood. Fan and well-wishers shower her with condolences and messages of support as law enforcement officials search for clues to the motive behind the killings.

Victoria Barnett from the US Holocaust Museum will speak on 'Bystanders to Genocide.' Part of the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities's six-part series of educational activities from November 7 through November 9, 2008, which will promote tolerance, human rights, justice, and diversity through the lessons of the Holocaust and tragedy today.

We live between fences. We may hardly notice them, but they are dominant features in our lives and in our history. Built of hedge, concrete, wood and metal, the fence skirts our properties and is central to the American landscape. We use them to enclose our houses and neighborhoods.

Part of the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities's six-part series of educational activities from November 7 through November 9, 2008, which will promote tolerance, human rights, justice, and diversity through the lessons of the Holocaust and tragedy today. The program includes presentations by Holocaust scholars, various workshops, and an art exhibit.

For years, Filipino immigrants and African Americans in Chicago have gravitated to bowling for recreation and escape from the pressures of everyday life. The distinct rhythms of bowling and league competition are sources of enjoyment, and they also create camaraderie and connections among bowlers that can extend beyond bowling night.

Join us to explore the past and present of Filipino American and African American bowling in Chicago, including the little known historic connections the sport created between these groups.

This event is part of the "Bodies in Motion" series.

The "Bodies in Motion" series explores the cultural significance of athletic activities for Chicago's different ethnic communities. This series is offered through Cultural Connections, a public-education program developed by The Field Museum to offer cross-cultural, public events based in an anthropological framework of Common Concerns, Different Responses. The program also offers continuing professional development courses for Chicago Public School teachers.

"Bodies in Motion" Schedule

A Road Scholar Program by Penelope Bingham

At 6:00 p.m., the Figge Art Museum will host an unveiling of 'Kristallnacht: The Night of the Crystal Death,' a portfolio of ten limited-edition prints by Erwin Eisch. At 7:00, there will be a screening of the film 'Bonhoeffer' by Martin Doublmeier, followed by a panel discussion with the filmmaker at 8:00 p.m.